A personal journal of film and documentary reviews, and reviews of anything else that intrigues me.
Australian and New Zealand Films
Stephen Jodrell, “Tudawali” (1988) Made as a TV movie, “Tudawali” shines a light on the Australia’s first major indigenous film star Robert Tudawali, played outstandingly by…
Australian and New Zealand Films
Rosie Jones, “The Family” (2016) For over 20 years, the quiet town of Eildon and the Melbourne suburb of Ferny Creek played host to a bizarre…
Australian and New Zealand Films
John Pilger, “The Coming War on China” (2016) Two years in the making with literally a cast of thousands involved in crowd-funding it, Pilger’s “The Coming…
Australian and New Zealand Films
Rolf de Heer, “The Tracker” (2002) On the surface, a simple story of four men hunting a fugitive who has committed a crime, “The Tracker” is…
Australian and New Zealand Films
Gillian Armstrong, “Women He’s Undressed” (2015) Hollywood could not have dreamt up a more classic story of the country boy who finds his home town and…
Australian and New Zealand Films
Andrew Ruhemann and Shaun Tan, “The Lost Thing” Adapted from co-director Shaun Tan’s picture book written for children, the beguiling “The Lost Thing” seems a very…
Australian and New Zealand Films
SBS News Interview with President Bashar al Assad (1 July 2016) Two years in the making, SBS journalist Luke Waters’ interview of Syrian President Bashar al Assad…
Australian and New Zealand Films
Dylan McDonald, “Buckskin” (2013) A young teacher and sometime Australian Rules football player called Jack Buckskin is one of a very tiny number of people who can…
Australian and New Zealand Films
Kelrick Martin, “Prison Songs” (2015) Billed as Australia’s first musical documentary, and probably the first of its kind to be set in a prison, “Prison Songs” is…
Australian and New Zealand Films
Eva Orner, “Chasing Asylum” (2016) Finding information about Australia’s treatment of asylum seekers kept in its detention centres on Manus Island (Papua New Guinea) and Nauru,…